A Star Arrives
by nixerist
Summary: #6 of the Life as We Know It series. A fun night with the seven goes wild when Annabeth goes into labor. T for birth.


"Leo, I dare you to shove as many Cheetos up your nose as possible."

"Oh it's on Percy. Why don't you go for it to?"

"I think I just might."

It's 9 P.M. on a Wednesday night in February, and all of the Seven have decided to have a "Hang-Out-Sesh" at the Grace's, as the others put it. We were playing Apple's to Apple's, but the boys got bored and started acting stupid, as usual. So thats how we got to Percy and Leo shoving Cheetos up their noses.

"Leo, you're going to cause a bloody nose, babe. Don't be so rough." Called Leo's girlfriend, Trish.

"Yea, really guys is this a good idea?" Hazel asked, obviously wondering what's wrong with them.

"Just let the be," Piper said, "They can suffer the consequences."

It was starting to get ridiculous, so Piper, Hazel, Trish, and I gave up. We started talking about normal girl things. Some girl was flirting with Jason the other day and he was oblivious as usual. Frank turned into a squirrel at the park the this morning and confused his mortal friends. And Leo was being, well, Leo. I started tuning out at some point though because my lower back was really bothering me. I am 38 weeks pregnant and the baby has been really stressing me out. My back has been hurting so badly some days that I've had to stay home from work. Finally, I couldn't take it.

"Hey Piper? Do you have any ibuprofen? My back is really bothering me." I asked.

"Of course. Here, come with me." She said, gesturing to the small kitchen. I stood up to follow her, the pain intensifying. I was standing in the doorway, when all of a sudden, I felt something pop in my stomach. I let out a squeal as water trickled down my legs.

"Annabeth?" Piper inquired, "What's wrong?"

"My water just broke." I said, starting to breath heavily. She pushed me toward a kitchen chair and called for Percy.

"PERCY GET IN HERE! YOUR WIFE'S WATER JUST BROKE! BABY ON THE WAY!"

Percy rushed in, about six Cheetos shoved up his nose, wide-eyed, and concerned.

"What! You're joking right? I don't have the baby bag, all the stuff is at our apartment! We have to call our parents and we didn't drive here so-"

"PERCY!" I screamed, cutting him off, "I'm in labor and you are doing nothing! DO SOMETHING."

That seemed to wake him up. He ran in the other room and grabbed the rest of our stuff. By this time, the others were gathering at the door, seeing if they could do anything to help. Once Percy returned, he helped me get up and walked me to the elevator. It seemed like it couldn't take longer to come, but it finally arrived. Percy ran out the entrance of the building to hail a taxi. He got one, helped me in, and shouted, "Get us to the hospital! My wife is in labor!", and with that, he zipped into traffic.

"Percy," I muttered, "The Cheetos. Take them out you idiot."

The ride was excruciating. Contractions are coming every now and then, getting stronger and my cries getting louder. Percy was too stunned to do anything besides repeated over and over, "Hold on baby. Almost there. Hold on.", which didn't really help. We pulled in the drive, Percy chucked some money at the driver, and pulled me into the hospital. He kept yelling "Help! We need a doctor! My wife is in labor! Anybody?!". So much for staying calm.

A few nurses helped us to a room and handed me a gown. After a few more minutes, my doctor showed up and told me I was 5 centimeters dilated and that it would be a little while before I had to push. Percy paced around the room, only stopping when I had a contraction. He called his parents, who soon arrived with out baby bag from our apartment. Sally was a much better helped than Percy. She sat with me and was speaking encouraging words when the pain came. After 10 hours of this, the doctor finally said it was time to push.

Sally sat on one side of me, holding one leg and one hand, with Percy doing the same on the other. The contractions were coming close and strong. At first, when I pushed I was just moaning a little in pain. By the tenth time though, I was full out screaming. Everyone was trying to help, but it was only getting worse. I started to get too tired to push and with every push, they just got weaker and weaker. I was losing my strength. I was just about ready to give up when I looked at Percy.

"Annabeth, you've waited nine months to meet this little baby, and it's almost here. Don't give up now. It's head it right there. Be strong darling. I'm right here."

And with that, I felt renewed and started pushing really hard. After a few more pushes, I was barely noticing anything except the pain coming from my stomach, when I heard a small cry.

"Wise Girl, the head's out. Now let's finish this up and meet our baby."

I bore down and pushed for all it was worth, screaming as loud as possible, and then it was done. The pain was gone and a sense of relief washed over me. Percy reached down and cut the baby's umbilical cord. He looked back up at me and whispered, "It's a girl, Annabeth. Our little baby girl."

The doctor pulled her up and onto my chest. And in that moment, my entire heart melted. She had little tufts of blond hair and Percy's bright green eyes. Her nose was his, but the rest of her face structure was more like mine. A perfect mix of us.

"Annabeth, that was amazing. You are so wonderful. But, what should we name her?"

"I like Sophia. It means wisdom. And Mairin, which means star of the sea." I spoke, quietly.

"Sophia Mairin Jackson. Our Sophia. Our baby."


End file.
